Planetagarden
Harvested olives must be “cured” to remove the bitterness in order to make them palatable. The most common curing processes use brine, dry salt, water, or lye treatments. During these curing processes the water-soluble oleuropein compound is leached out of the olive flesh.
- How do you prepare olives to eat?
- Can you eat olives straight from the tree?
- Are olives poisonous raw?
How do you prepare olives to eat?
Brining the Olives
Combine 1 part salt to 10 parts water and pour over the olives in a bowl or pot. Weigh them down with a plate and let sit for 1 week. Drain the olives and repeat the brining process for another week. Do this two more times so they brine for about a month or so.
Can you eat olives straight from the tree?
Are olives edible off the branch? While olives are edible straight from the tree, they are intensely bitter. Olives contain oleuropein and phenolic compounds, which must be removed or, at least, reduced to make the olive palatable.
Are olives poisonous raw?
When eaten raw, olives are extremely bitter and, for all intents and purposes, completely inedible. ... In order to remove the oleuropein, the olives need to be cured by either packing them in salt or submerging them in a liquid solution of lye or brine.
